Forget-Me-Not
by XxTheSweetestTabooxX
Summary: After the mysterious murders of her mother, father, and sister, Aria Black decides to rid herself of her entire past. She changes her entire appearance and way of life. While searching for the truth, she wonders into a forest where she meets Edward, who may just have the key to the truth. And her heart. Rated T for future chapters.
1. Prologue

_A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen. _

_-Edward de Bono_

Prologue

The little girl kept running, sobbing as she did so. _Nobody loves me, _she thought miserably. She had lost her mother and sister in the park; she thought they had left her behind. She flopped down in the middle of a field and started to sob even louder.

"Why, Mommy?" she wept. "Why don't you love me anymore?" She took off the locket her mother had given to her for her birthday and threw it. She didn't care if she ever saw the necklace again. As the girl wept, she did not notice the mysterious man watching her. He took a strange interest in her. No-he was not attracted to her. He simply wanted to comfort her. He just did not know how. _Maybe if I weren't such a monster,_ he thought. As he crept away, he stepped on a twig. The girl turned around, her brown hair whipping around her face. She got up and slowly walked over to where she had heard the noise.

"Hello?" she called out. The man stepped out from his hiding spot and waited for the girl to scream. When she didn't, he got closer to her. The girl stood still, showing no signs of fear. "Are you a fairytale creature?" He smiled slightly.

"I heard you crying," he said. The girl looked down at her shoes, embarrassed. "Are you sad about something?"

"Nobody loves me…" she trailed off. The man immediately related to the girl, even though he was much older. He often felt the same way. He clumsily picked up the girl's locket. She looked at him in amazement. "Thank you," she said. She cautiously took it and played with the chain.

"Are you scared of me?" the man asked softly. The girl smiled and shook her head. He cocked his head, confused. "But, I'm…different." The word made him shudder slightly. It reminded him of painful memories he tried so hard to forget. The girl shrugged.

"I'm different, too. I'm not like the other kids at school. They say mean things about me, and the teachers say mean things, too, sometimes. But then I remember what my Nana told me before she went with Jesus to Heaven: 'Each of us represents a star in Heaven. Sometimes we shine with the rest, sometimes we twinkle alone and sometimes, when we least expect it, we make someone else's dreams come true,'" she quoted. The man looked at her curiously.

"What is 'Heaven?'" he asked, liking the way it sounded when he said it. It sounded so pretty.

"It's where Jesus and my Nana live. Me and you are gonna be up there some day." The man looked up at the sky, imagining what this "Heaven" looked like.

"How do you know we'll be up there?"

"Because you're a good person. You're nice to me, unlike all of the other kids at school." The man looked down.

"I've done some very bad things…" he trailed off. "Things that a lot of people hate me for." The girl was about to respond when a woman called out her name. The man started to panic.

"Please don't go! You're my friend," she whispered. She went over to him; he crouched down to her level. "I promise that I'll come back tomorrow," she said. She softly kissed his pale cheek and placed the locket around his neck. He looked surprised, wondering why she had given her such a precious thing. Before he could thank her, she ran off in the direction of the woman's voice.

"You're my friend, too," he whispered as he watched her run off. Happy that he had met someone new, he waited for the little girl's return. Every time he heard a child's voice, he hoped it was her. Hours turned into days, and days turned into weeks; there was still no sign of his friend. The unbearable weeks soon became unbearable months. The leaves changed color, and before he knew it, the months became years. He still waited for his friend, in hope that she would one day come back.

But deep down inside, he knew that he would never see her again.


	2. Raindrops on Roses

"_Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…_" the black haired girl sang, her voice slightly wavering. She stroked the tombstone with a trembling hand, trying to face the reality of it all. It had taken a while for her to make sense of everything. How could three murders take place in her house without her not even noticing? How did she survive? She felt like dying. "For some reason, I feel like all of this is my fault," she mumbled. She placed a rose on each of their graves and started walking off. It was a sunny, autumn day, but she felt like she had her own personal raincloud.

She hugged herself as she walked through a forest filled with colorful trees. Why did it seem so familiar? She leaned against a tree and ran her fingers through her hair. _Get a grip, Aria, _she thought, _you're just tired. _Aria stuck her earphones in her ears and turned on her iPod. Whenever she needed to clear her mind, she just listened to music. She soon found herself drifting off into the place where she tried hard not to go: her dreams.

Aria woke up in her old bedroom. Something wasn't right, though. A light turned on, revealing a gruesome sight. Blood was spattered on the white walls and on the carpet. She wanted to scream, but no sound came out. _Stop it, _she wanted to say, _stop it!_ She looked out the window and saw hundreds of police cars parked in the driveway. Were they coming here to take her away? Why? She hadn't done anything. As she turned towards the door to run away, a cop busted down the door and pointed a gun at her. She put her hands up.

"Put the knife down!" the cop shouted. Aria looked at her hand and saw a huge butcher's knife covered in blood.

"I-I didn't…" she stammered. Before she could finish her sentence, she heard the gun go off.

Aria woke up with a start. She was covered in sweat and tears. That dream had seemed so real. She ran her hand over her stomach to make sure there was no gunshot wound. She exhaled and turned off her iPod. As she got up to walk away, she heard a strange sound.

_Snip._

She thought it was just some animal scurrying off and thought nothing else of it.

_Snip. Snip._

The second time, Aria decided to go check it out. She tried her best to try and find the source by following the sound. She heard a twig snap in the other direction, and she turned around. She saw a figure standing in the shadows.

"Who are you?" she asked. He stepped into the light. Aria did not flinch or step back. It was a young man dressed in black leather covered in buckles and straps. He had raven black hair that looked like no comb or brush had touched it in years. His skin was as pale as a ghost, and his face had deep cuts on it. Instead of hands, he had scissors for hands. Although he looked strange, something about him was inviting and oddly familiar.

"My name is Edward," he muttered. Aria stepped closer to him. Why was his face so familiar?

"I'm Aria. Where do you live?" she asked. He pointed a shiny blade at the large mansion on the hill. Aria looked up at it. "Wow," she breathed. "That's amazing. Why aren't you up there?"

"I'm waiting for a friend." He pointed to a locket around his neck. Aria smiled slightly. "She promised she would come and see me."

"How long have you been down here, waiting?" Edward shrugged.

"Forever, maybe. It feels like I have." Aria started to feel bad for him. He looked hurt when he said he had been waiting.

"They haven't come yet, have they?" He shook his head no. "Do your, uh, parents know you're here?" Edward looked down.

"My father…he wouldn't wake up." Aria started to feel even worse.

"He's dead?" Edward looked at her, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind." Thunder boomed overhead. Edward jumped back, frightened. By doing so, he accidentally cut his face. He winced.

"What was that?" he asked.

"It was just thunder. Are you alright?" She stroked his face softly. He looked surprised by her kind gesture. He nodded slightly. "We should go inside. It's going to rain soon. Can you lead me up to that mansion?"

"Yes," he replied. He started walking off; Aria followed closely behind. Aria was amazed by what she saw as they approached a large gate. Numerous structures made out of shrubbery greeted her. There was a dinosaur, a snake, and a large hand. He must've made them. She smiled to herself as she thought about the large imagination he'd have to have to be able to create all this. Aria opened up the large door, coughing as dust flew at her.

Inside, there was a large machine. When she saw the whisks, she guessed the machine was for baking something. She touched it, and wiped the dust off of her hands. She guessed it hadn't been used in years.

"Aria," Edward said as she closed the door, "do you remember this locket?"

***Aaand that's the first chapter. Sorry if it's kind of slow. I promise it'll get better. ;)**


	3. I Simply Remember My Favorite Things

Aria looked at Edward, confused. She had never seen that locket before in her entire life. She told him this. Edward looked down at the floor gloomily. He had thought it was her... It had to be her.

"Oh," he mumbled. Aria felt bad, but what else could she do? Was he mistaking her for the "friend" he had been waiting for? In an attempt to lighten up the mood, she decided to try and change the subject.

"What do you do up here?" Edward shrugged and looked around, trying to think of the things he did to keep himself occupied.

"There's not very much to do." He stiffened up as he heard the thunder boom once again. Aria smiled slightly. Although he looked like a young man on the outside, he was as naïve and innocent as a young boy.

"I guess the thunder frightens you?" she probed. He nodded, somewhat embarrassed. "That's okay. I used to be afraid of the dark." She laughed as she thought about the numerous times she'd climbed into her parents' bed because of her irrational fear. As she thought about her parents, though, the happy memories went away to make way for the miserable ones. Waking up to an eerily silent house. Seeing her mother, father, and sister lying dead in their beds, their throats slit. The grim funeral. She shuddered as she thought about how she'd narrowly escaped from the police. She knew they wanted her for questioning. _I should be safe up here, _she thought. She glanced over at Edward. _At least, I hope I'll be. _

"Why were you afraid in the dark?" he asked. Aria sighed.

"I guess it was because it was a fear of not knowing. Anything can happen in the dark." She started to think about "that night." She had begun to refer to the night of her family's murder as "that night." There were no other words to describe it that those two.

"I believe I can relate," Edward replied, thinking about the horrible thing he'd done many years ago. For a long while, both were silent, for they were thinking about their pasts. The two both had very disturbed pasts, but tried to avoid talking about them. Edward cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "How did you do it?" he asked.

"Do what?"

"Get over your fear of the dark."

"Oh. Well, eventually, my parents got tired of me crawling into their beds at two in the morning, so my mom taught me a song. It was from this musical called _The Sound of Music," _she explained. Edward cocked his head. He reminded her of a confused puppy.

"What's a 'musical?'" he asked. Aria smiled. She used to enjoy musicals, but now she absolutely despised them. She could not stand how they constantly broke into song about nonsense. She tried to find a way to describe them without expressing her deep hatred for them.

"Well, it's where people act, but they also sing and sometimes dance. _The Sound of Music _used to be my favorite." Edward wanted to ask what _The Sound of Music _was about, but he felt like he would irritate her if he asked anymore questions. Even though he barely knew Aria, he didn't want her to leave. Secretly, Aria didn't want to leave, either. The two soon became quiet again. Aria couldn't stand the constant awkward silences. Why couldn't she think of anything to say to him? Edward looked down at the locket he was wearing around his neck. He sighed sadly as he thought about the little girl who had given it to him. Her words played in his mind over and over again: _I promise I'll be back tomorrow. _He wondered when "tomorrow" would come. Today? Or never?

"Do you have a family?" Edward asked from out of nowhere. Aria looked away. She felt a lump rise in her throat.

"Um," she mumbled, her voice cracking, "can we not talk about that?" Edward felt bad for making her upset. He snipped his scissors together nervously. He wanted to ask her more, but he had to be careful about what he asked her. Aria ran her fingers through her black hair and sighed. She was glad she had not started sobbing right in front of Edward. She didn't want to come across as weak; she wasn't. She had gone through a lot over the course of the last week. One of those things included running from the police. She bit the inside of her cheek (she usually did this when she was nervous) as she thought about what would happen if they found her. Would they arrest her for evading the police? Probably. Would she become the prime suspect? Most likely. Was she going to spend the rest of her life in prison? She didn't want to think about that.

"I apologize." Edward looked down at his scissors, still ashamed for upsetting Aria. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"You don't have to." She yawned right in the middle of her sentence. Edward smiled; it made Aria smile also.

"Would you like to lie down and rest?" Aria shrugged, wondering why Edward was being so polite. He barely knew her; she barely knew him. The rational portion of her mind told her to say no, for how would she know if he was going to rape her, or even worse, kill her? The kind and compassionate part of her brain, told her to trust him. For some reason she felt like she could trust him, even if they had just met. She glanced at the locket; she believed it had something to do with the locket around his neck.

"I guess I'll just lie down for a little while." Edward nodded and led her up a tall, winding staircase. By the time she got to the top, she was out of breath. He pointed to an aged, wooden door. She opened it. Inside the room was large bookcases filled with books that had to be at least as old as her great-grandparents. There was a desk made out of oak that was covered with papers and pens. A dark red loveseat was placed in a corner, right next to a brick fireplace. Although the place was very strange, it seemed like home to Aria. Edward had rarely ever been in here, except for many years ago, when his father was still alive. It had been Christmas; his father read him the story of a woman who gave birth to a man who saved the entire world by dying on a wooden cross.

"This was my father's study," Edward said, reminiscing about the time he'd spent in here with his father. Aria looked around, impressed.

"He had quite an eye for interior design," she complimented.

"Thank you. Good night, Aria." He left the room, snipping his scissors together. Aria gently closed the door behind him and sat down on the loveseat. She laid her head on a pillow and looked up at the ceiling. Maybe she could start a new life and leave her old one behind. Forget about the murders. She knew it would take a while to get herself together, but it could be worth a shot. She placed her ear buds in her ears and turned on her iPod. She closed her eyes, and soon drifted off to sleep.

And for the first time in a long while, she actually slept peacefully.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

**I hope the second chapter was at least a little bit better! Please, don't be afraid to leave reviews. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. **

**Oh, and with Aria and Edward: I didn't want to make them fall head over heels as soon as they met. It just wouldn't seem right. I kind of want them to get to know each other more. ;)**


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